


Never Again

by Toonbly



Category: TAZ Amnesty (Podcast), The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Amnesty Episode 21, Angst, Brief Gore descriptions, Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Keith Owens, Keith is Zeke's son headcanon, Mention of Death, post ep21
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-14 15:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18951181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toonbly/pseuds/Toonbly
Summary: Sheriff Zeke Owens interviews a victim in the recent attack at The Little Dipper. The victim being his own son.





	Never Again

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on the headcanon that Keith is Owens's son started up by @keplersheetz and a conversation I had with @mamashousewife on tumblr!!

This wasn't a conversation he'd ever thought he'd have to have with his son.

Zeke sat across from his eldest son, Keith, staring at him in silence. Keith, on the other hand, was avoiding his father's gaze. Under the small table Keith's legs are shaking, his hands are clasped tightly together, his eyes to the side and looking down at the floor. He knew he had to say something, anything at all, but what can you say to your son after he's witnessed such a  _ horrific _ crime?

Two.

Two of Keith's friends were now dead.

Someone- perhaps something- had torn the two of them to shreds.

Arriving on the scene that night filled Zeke with dread. The moment he heard the Hornets usual hangout had been attacked, his heart dropped down into his stomach. When he arrived he was frantically searching the premises. He saw the bodies almost immediately. Two of them. Both mangled far beyond recognition. Blood everywhere, limbs twisted and contorted out of shape, chunks of flesh missing from what he assumed was their necks. His stomach churned at the mere sight of it. Zeke looked around in a panic, desperately trying to find his son.

_ Please don't let him be dead. Please, please- he can't lose his son too. _

That's when the gurney was rolled out of the bar.

Zeke stared for a moment, the air leaving his lungs the moment he saw that familiar head of messy ginger hair.

He knew that he had to keep his composure, he  _ knew  _ that, but that was his  _ son. _ That was his  _ baby boy. _ Without thinking, Zeke rushed towards Keith and the medics. Screaming, shouting, pleading, crying, nearly collapsing before he could even make it to them.

_ "Is he alive-" _ He cried,  _ "Who did this- who did this to my boy-" _

The medics kept insisting Keith was okay. Over and over again they told him. Zeke didn't listen, grabbing for Keith's hand and holding it tightly. It was so cold, it was  _ limp. _ Zeke's eyes fell upon Keith's face. Unconscious. Keith was unconscious. His chest rose and fell at an alarmingly slow rate. His forehead was cut open in three spots, three gruesome claw marks that raked across his forehead. His hair had been matted with blood.

Keith's been injured before, he's been in a fair share of trouble, but not something like this.

Never something like this.

Zeke hardly remembered the rest of the night. He remembered sitting in the hospital, trying not to have a breakdown in front of all these folks. He remembered a man and a woman coming into the hospital, crying and screaming  _ no, no their baby can't be dead, surely there's something they can do. They can't be dead. They can't be. _

Zeke's line of work often meant seeing the darker aspects of the world on a daily basis. But Zeke never thought his own son would come into  _ this  _ sort of danger.

And now here they were, sitting in silence inside the ranger station a mere week after the attack. Keith had just been let out of the hospital the night before, and he and Zeke hadn't said a word to each other.

What  _ can  _ they say?

Zeke had to interview Keith. Keith was not only a victim but a witness. But how the  _ hell _ do you interrogate your own son about him witnessing his two friends getting murdered? Keith had always been a little distant from him. What with Keith being a troublemaking delinquent and Zeke being a man of the law, it's not that shocking. They didn't have a bad relationship, just a very...quiet one. Zeke knew that wasn't going to lend any hands to getting to the bottom of this case.

Keith was the one who broke the silence, “So, can I leave or are you just going to keep sitting there staring at me with that pitiful look on your face?” His voice was quiet, but his tone was sharp. He still avoided eye contact with his father. Playing the tough guy routine was something Keith had always done, even when he was little. 

Zeke sighed, “Keith...I understand you’re in grief-”

“Then let me go home. I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Kiddo, I’d love for you to be able to just go home and grieve like you need to. I would. But you were a witness to this crime. You’re one of the few who aren’t still in the hospital. We need your account of events.”

“Why don’t you just ask Hollis. Or Tim. Or Bevin. Or anyone but me.”

“We have, kiddo.”

“Then let me go home.”

“Hollis, Tim, and Bevin weren’t indoors when the attack occurred. You were. We need your account of what happened.”

Keith scoffs, “I don’t know what you want me to say. I rushed whatever the hell it was that attacked us and-” He laughs, shaking his head, “I got my ass knocked out. Right off the bat. Didn’t even land one hit on the goddamn thing.”

Zeke swallows back the temptation to tell Keith it’s not his fault, or that there was nothing he could do. Both of these facts are true. But right now he needs to get to the bottom of what happened.  Save the fatherly, comforting words for later. “Do you remember what they looked like?” He asks.

“It’s blurry.” Keith mutters.

“It’s okay if you can’t remember-”

“No, mean-” Keith sighs, “Looking at them- at it- made my vision...Blurry. It- It was tall, I can tell you that. Long blonde hair and..and these- these gigantic claws and- and fangs- deep red eyes-” He swallows a lump in his chest, his arms visibly shaking now. He turns slowly to face Zeke, finally making eye contact with him. He breaks it for just a moment to glance at the recorder that’s placed between them on the table. He looks back up to his father, unblinking, “Turn the recorder off.” He says, no emotion present in his voice.

Zeke reels back, “I- Keith you know I can’t do that-”

“Turn it off.”

“Keith it’s protocol-”

“Turn. It. Off.”

He hesitates, eyes drifting back and forth between his son and the recorder on the table. He hovers a finger over the “End Recording” button before clicking it. The second the recordings stop, Keith untenses. He shudders, leaning forward and burying his face in his hands. He digs his fingers into his hair, his breathing becomes quiet but rushed. Zeke stands up, pausing for just a moment before forcing himself to walk to Keith’s side. A gentle hand finds itself on Keith’s shoulder, the trembling of Keith’s body shaking against his father’s hand. Zeke kneels down in front of Keith, keeping his hand on his shoulder and trying to catch his eye. He swore Keith had begun crying the second he turned the recorder off. 

Zeke’s stoney expression fell.

The interview could wait. Right now his child needs him.

He speaks softly, “Keith it’s alright. Breathe, okay? Everything’s alright, I promise you. Whoever attacked you isn’t here, you’re safe.”

Keith spoke suddenly, his voice louder than it was before, “Monsters.”

Zeke blinks, “Wh- Keith, what do you mean?”

Keith shot up, staring down at his father with tears in his eyes. They streamed down his face quickly, his cheeks already turning a red hot hue. His lips quiver, his breath shakes, his eyes were puffy, everything about his demeanor screams panic, “Monsters- It- It was a monster-”

“Keith don’t be silly-”

“I’m not-”

“Monsters don’t exist-”

“They do-”

“Keith you’re just scared is all-”

“But it-”

“I promise you it’s not-”

“CAN YOU JUST FUCKING LISTEN TO ME.”

Keith’s shouting booms and echoes off the walls. Zeke falters, eyes locked onto his son in utter shock. Keith’s never snapped at him like that before. Never. They’ve had their disagreements, they’ve had their little quarries, but neither had ever yelled at the other. Ever.

Zeke nods slowly, waiting for Keith to continue.

Keith chokes out a sob, “I- I knew about ‘em- I knew-” He buries his face in his hands once more, “I saw- I saw this- terrifying creature in the woods and- and I- I ran off and didn’t tell anyone b-because I was so- so scared- Someone- Someone found me and- and told me that if I told anyone they’d-” His breath hitches, unable to continue speaking as he let out a shaken wail.

“Keith..” Is all Zeke can say, standing up to Keith’s eye level and placing a hand on each shoulder. He’d heard about these monsters before, just a few months before his youngest son Calvin had gone on and on about how something attacked him in the pool. He didn’t believe him. Zeke didn’t believe his son when he said something attacked him. Something tried to drown him. Something tried to kill him.

Now, another had tried to kill Keith.

Both of his sons. Both of his sons had nearly fallen victim to an enemy that Zeke had brushed off as nonexistent.

His stomach churned just thinking about it.

What kind of father was he? What kind of father ignores his child’s plead for help?

And now..

“I knew- I knew things like- like that existed and I didn’t tell them- I didn’t warn anyone-” He gasps for air between his frantic breaths, “I couldn’t even fight it- I couldn’t even protect my friends! I- I got knocked out and they- they-”

“Keith you know that’s not your fault.” Zeke whispers, “There was nothing you could’ve done.”

“I COULD’VE DONE SOMETHING!” Keith screams, “I could’ve- told them what I saw- or- or warned them that- that _ thing  _ was out there-”

“You were scared. That’s okay. It’s okay.” Zeke’s grip tightens on Keith’s shoulders.

“I couldn’t even fight back-”

“There was nothing you could do, Keith..”

“I SHOULD’VE BEEN ABLE TO!”

Keith’s breath hitches when he was suddenly pulled forward.

Zeke’s arms wrapped around him, holding Keith tightly. Zeke placed a hand in Keith’s hair, placing his chin atop his son’s shoulder. Keith pauses in shock. His father held him in silence, running a hand through his hair. His presence was gentle, it was _ familiar.  _ It was a warm light in the cold darkness that Keith found himself in. He melts into the embrace, wrapping his arms around his father. His breath shakes, his cries are more hushed, he buries his face into his father’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s okay..” Zeke whispers, “Relax, okay? We can sort this out, I promise, we can work through this..You just need to relax.”

“I- I could’ve- done something, I..”

“No, Keith. You couldn’t have. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

“I miss them..”

“I understand, believe me kiddo, I do...I know it’s hard, I know it hurts, I’m..I’m so sorry, Keith..”

Keith’s voice becomes even quieter. Zeke swears his heart actually breaks when the words escape his son’s mouth.

“I-I’m scared, dad..”

Zeke grabs the back of Keith’s jacket tightly, bringing his son even closer to him in their embrace. He twirls his hair between his fingers. “I know, I know..” He whispers, “It’s okay, kiddo..I promise it’s okay. We’ll figure this out. Whatever did this won’t get away with it, I promise..”

Keith didn’t speak much after that. The only sounds that escaped him were quiet sobs and sniffles.

Zeke stares off, his mind drifting.

Monsters. 

Keith said it was a monster that killed his friends. 

He doesn’t want to believe it. He really doesn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to believe Calvin either, he didn’t believe Calvin. Now look what’s happened. Two people- two children- are dead. Keith almost died. His  _ own son _ had almost died.

Both of his sons. Both of them so, so close to death because of his negligence.

This wasn’t going to happen again.

Zeke swore this wasn’t going to happen again.

No matter what, nothing like this was going to happen again.

Not to him, not to his sons, not to his town, not to anyone.

It's never going to happen again.

Never again.


End file.
